Method and Apparatus of Block Partition for VR360 Video Coding

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus of processing 360-degree virtual reality (VR360) pictures are disclosed. According to one method, if a leaf coding unit contains one or more face edges, the leaf processing unit is split into sub-processing units along the face edges without the need to signal the partition. In another method, if the quadtree (QT) of binary tree (BT) partition depth for a processing unit has not reached the maximum QT or BT depth, the processing unit is split. If the processing unit contains a horizontal face edge, QT or horizontal BT partition is applied. If the processing unit contains a vertical face edge, QT or vertical BT partition is applied.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/299,320, filed on Mar. 12, 2019, which claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application, Ser. No. 62/643,797, filed on Mar.16, 2018, the entirety of which are incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to picture processing for 360-degreevirtual reality (VR) pictures. In particular, the present inventionrelates to block partition for VR360 video coding.

BACKGROUND AND RELATED ART

The 360-degree video, also known as immersive video is an emergingtechnology, which can provide “feeling as sensation of present”. Thesense of immersion is achieved by surrounding a user with wrap-aroundscene covering a panoramic view, in particular, 360-degree field ofview. The “feeling as sensation of present” can be further improved bystereographic rendering. Accordingly, the panoramic video is beingwidely used in Virtual Reality (VR) applications.

Immersive video involves the capturing a scene using multiple cameras tocover a panoramic view, such as 360-degree field of view. The immersivecamera usually uses a panoramic camera or a set of cameras arranged tocapture 360-degree field of view. Typically, two or more cameras areused for the immersive camera. All videos must be taken simultaneouslyand separate fragments (also called separate perspectives) of the sceneare recorded. Furthermore, the set of cameras are often arranged tocapture views horizontally, while other arrangements of the cameras arepossible.

The 360-degree virtual reality (VR) pictures may be captured using a360-degree spherical panoramic camera or multiple pictures arranged tocover all filed of views around 360 degrees. The three-dimensional (3D)spherical picture is difficult to process or store using theconventional picture/video processing devices. Therefore, the 360-degreeVR pictures are often converted to a two-dimensional (2D) format using a3D-to-2D projection method, such as EquiRectangular Projection (ERP) andCubeMap Projection (CMP). Besides the ERP and CMP projection formats,there are various other VR projection formats, such as OctaHedronProjection (OHP), icosahedron projection (ISP), Segmented SphereProjection (SSP) and Rotated Sphere Projection (RSP) that are widelyused in the field.

The VR360 video sequence usually requires more storage space than theconventional 2D video sequence. Therefore, video compression is oftenapplied to VR360 video sequence to reduce the storage space for storageor the bit rate for streaming/transmission.

The High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard is developed under thejoint video project of the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) andthe ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) standardizationorganizations, and is especially with partnership known as the JointCollaborative Team on Video Coding (JCT-VC). VR360 video sequences canbe coded using HEVC. However, the present invention may also beapplicable for other coding methods.

In HEVC, one slice is partitioned into multiple coding tree units (CTU).For color pictures, a color slice may be a partitioned into multiplecoding tree blocks (CTB). The CTU is further partitioned into multiplecoding units (CUs) to adapt to various local characteristics. HEVCsupports multiple Intra prediction modes and for Intra coded CU, theselected Intra prediction mode is signaled. In addition to the conceptof coding unit, the concept of prediction unit (PU) is also introducedin HEVC. Once the splitting of CU hierarchical tree is done, each leafCU is further split into one or more prediction units (PUs) according toprediction type and PU partition. After prediction, the residuesassociated with the CU are partitioned into transform blocks, namedtransform units (TUs) for the transform process.

Binary tree structure is more flexible than quadtree structure sincemore partition shapes can be supported, which is also the source ofcoding efficiency improvement. However, the encoding complexity willalso increase in order to select the best partition shape. In order tobalance the complexity and coding efficiency, a method to combine thequadtree and binary tree structure has been disclosed. According to thisblock partition structure, a block is firstly partitioned by a quadtreestructure. Binary tree splitting can be applied to further split a blockvertically or horizontally.

In conventional video coding, the block partition is applied to thepicture or a region (e.g. a slice). However, a VR360 picture may containdiscontinuous boundaries within the picture. The conventional blockpartition may not be suitable for VR360 pictures. Therefore, it isdesirable to develop block partition methods that will take into accountthe characteristics of VR360 video sequences.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Methods and apparatus of processing 360-degree virtual reality (VR360)pictures are disclosed. According to one method, a target processingunit in a VR picture is received, where the VR picture corresponds to a2D (two-dimensional) picture projected from a 3D (three-dimensional)picture according to a target projection format. The target processingunit is partitioned into one or more child processing units usingquadtree (QT) partition and/or binary tree (BT) partition. When onetarget child processing unit is one leaf processing unit and containsone or more face edges, said one target child processing unit are splitinto two or more final leaf processing units along said one or more faceedges, and each of said two or more final leaf processing units containsno face edge. When one target child processing unit is one leafprocessing unit and contains no face edge, said one target childprocessing unit is designated as one final leaf processing unit. Saidone or more final leaf processing units are then encoded or decoded.

The target processing unit may correspond to one coding unit (CU).Whether one target child processing unit contains any face edge can bedetermined based on a block location and block size of said one targetchild processing unit in the VR picture and one or more face edgelocations of the VR picture in the target projection format. Therefore,information regarding whether said one target child processing unitcontains any face edge can be indicated implicitly without signaling theinformation. Also, information regarding a location of any face edge insaid one target child processing unit can be indicated implicitlywithout signaling the information.

The target projection format may correspond to Cubemap Projection (CMP),Barrel layout, Segmented-Sphere Projection (SSP), Octahedron Projection(OHP), Rotated Sphere Projection (RSP), Icosahedron Projection (ISP), orAdjusted Cubemap Projection (ACP).

When said one target child processing unit is one leaf prediction unitand contains one horizontal or vertical face edge, said one target childprocessing unit is split into two final leaf processing units along saidone horizontal or vertical face edge. When said one target childprocessing unit is one leaf prediction unit and contains one horizontalface edge and one vertical face edge, said one target child processingunit is split into four final leaf processing units along said onehorizontal face edge and said one vertical face edge.

Each of said one or more child processing units may correspond to oneleaf processing unit.

According to a second method, the target processing unit is partitionedinto one or more child processing units using quadtree (QT) partitionand/or binary tree (BT) partition. When one target child processing unitcontains only one face edge and maximum QT depth and/or maximum BT depthassociated with said one target child processing unit is not reached,said one target child processing unit is split horizontally into atleast two horizontal child processing units when only one face edge isone horizontal face edge and said one target child processing unit issplit vertically into at least two vertical child processing units whenonly one face edge is one vertical face edge. One or more final leafprocessing units are encoded or decoded, where said one or more finalleaf processing units comprise said at least two horizontal childprocessing units or said at least two vertical child processing units,or two or more second horizontal child processing units or two or moresecond vertical child processing units further partitioned from said atleast two horizontal child processing units or said at least twovertical child processing units respectively. The target processing unitmay correspond to one coding unit (CU).

When one target child processing unit contains two or more face edgesand the maximum QT depth and/or the maximum BT depth associated withsaid one target child processing unit is not reached, said one targetchild processing unit is split horizontally and vertically into fourthird child processing units. In this case, if one third childprocessing unit contains only one face edge and maximum QT depth and/ormaximum BT depth associated with said one third child processing unit isnot reached, said one third child processing unit is split horizontallyinto two fourth horizontal child processing units when only one faceedge in said one third child processing unit is one horizontal faceedge, and said one third child processing unit is split vertically intotwo fourth vertical child processing units when only one face edge insaid one third child processing unit is one vertical face edge.Furthermore, said one or more final leaf processing units furthercomprise said two fourth horizontal child processing units or said twofourth vertical child processing units, or two or more fifth horizontalchild processing units further partitioned from said two fourthhorizontal child processing units or two or more fifth vertical childprocessing units further partitioned from said two fourth vertical childprocessing units.

When one target child processing unit contains no face edge and themaximum QT depth and/or the maximum BT depth associated with said onetarget child processing unit is not reached, said one target childprocessing unit is split using the QT partition or the BT partition intoone or more sixth child processing units.

Information regarding whether one target child processing unit containsany face edge can be indicated implicitly without signaling theinformation. Whether one target child processing unit contains any faceedge can be determined based on the block location and block size ofsaid one target child processing unit in the VR picture and one or moreface edge locations of the VR picture in the target projection format.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of block partition and the issue relatedto discontinuous edge in a block of a VR360 picture.

FIG. 2 illustrates face edges within a VR360 picture for variousprojection formats, where the dashed line indicate a discontinuous faceedge and the dot-dashed line indicates a continuous face edge.

FIG. 3 illustrates face edges within a VR360 picture for more projectionformats, where the dashed line indicate a discontinuous face edge andthe dot-dashed line indicates a continuous face edge.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example VR block partition according to anembodiment of the present invention, where a CU containing a face edgeis partitioned into multiple sub-CUs along the face edge.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example VR block partition according to anembodiment of the present invention to further partition the blocksresulted from FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 illustrates examples of sub-CU partitioning to the leaf CUscontaining a face edge according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 illustrates another example of sub-CU partition according toMethod A, where the leaf-CU containing a horizontal face edge and anintersecting vertical face edge.

FIG. 8A illustrates examples of QT partition for VR pictures.

FIG. 8B illustrates examples of BT partition for VR pictures.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of block partition according to Method B,where QT and horizontal BT are allowed for a block containing ahorizontal face edge.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of further block partition for thesub-blocks resulted from FIG. 9 according to Method B.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of block partition with furtherconstraint on partition depth according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12A illustrates an example of partition Method B with maximum QTdepth constraint according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12B illustrates another example of partition Method B with maximumQT and BT depth constraint according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 13 illustrates another example of block partition according to anembodiment of Method B, where a CU contains two face edges.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of flowchart for block partitionaccording to an embodiment of the Method B in the case of one or moreface edges in a CU.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of flowchart similar to that in FIG. 14except for the case that no multiple face edges inside the CU.

FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a system incorporatingthe block partition method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, where a leaf CU with a face edge is split into multiplesub-CUs along the face edge.

FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a system incorporatingthe block partition method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, where a leaf CU with a face edge is split using QT/horizontalBT partition or QT/vertical BT partition if the maximum QT or BT is notreached.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carryingout the invention. This description is made for the purpose ofillustrating the general principles of the invention and should not betaken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determinedby reference to the appended claims.

It will be readily understood that the components of the presentinvention, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein,may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of differentconfigurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of theembodiments of the systems and methods of the present invention, asrepresented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of theinvention, as claimed, but is merely representative of selectedembodiments of the invention.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentmay be included in at least one embodiment of the present invention.Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in anembodiment” in various places throughout this specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Oneskilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the inventioncan be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or withother methods, components, etc. In other instances, well-knownstructures, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoidobscuring aspects of the invention.

The illustrated embodiments of the invention will be best understood byreference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by likenumerals throughout. The following description is intended only by wayof example, and simply illustrates certain selected embodiments ofapparatus and methods that are consistent with the invention as claimedherein.

In the description like reference numbers appearing in the drawings anddescription designate corresponding or like elements among the differentviews.

As mentioned above, block partition is always applied to divide apicture into multiple block (e.g. CUs) for block-based coding systems,and the coding process is applied to individual blocks. However, forVR360 video, one or more face edges may exist in the VR360 video, andthe video content across face edge may exhibit some abrupt changesacross the face edge. The face edge inside CUs (Coding Units) will causenegative effects on the video coding efficiency. Accordingly, thepresent invention disclosed block partition methods for VR360 video toimprove coding efficiency. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of blockpartition 110 and the issue related to discontinuous edge in a block(e.g. a CU) 120. The block partition 110 represents a result of multiplepartition stages using quadtree (QT) partition and binary tree (BT)partition. For VR360 picture partition 120, a 3×2 cubemap picture 122consists of six faces with three faces on the top and three faces on thebottom. The three faces on the top have continuous contents in thehorizontal direction. Similarly, the three faces on the bottom havecontinuous contents in the horizontal direction. A horizontal line 124indicates the face edges between the top sub-frame the bottom sub-frame.The face in the right side of the top sub-frame is indicated by adash-line box 126. According to conventional block partition, a block128 (e.g. a CU) may contain the face edge 130.

Within a VR360 picture, there may exist many face edges. The picturecontent may be continuous through some of face edge and discontinuousfor other face edges within a VR360 picture. FIG. 2 illustrates faceedges within a VR360 picture for various projection formats. In FIG.2(A), the 3×2 Cubemap Projection (CMP) format 210 is shown, where thedashed line indicate a discontinuous face edge and the dot-dashed lineindicates a continuous face edge. FIG. 2(B) illustrates continuous anddiscontinuous face edges within a VR360 picture in the CMP format with3×4 packing 220). FIG. 2(C) illustrates continuous and discontinuousface edges within a VR360 picture in the Barrel layout format 230. FIG.2(D) illustrates continuous and discontinuous face edges within a VR360picture in another CMP format with 3×4 packing 240. FIG. 2(E)illustrates continuous and discontinuous face edges within a VR360picture in the Segmented-Sphere Projection (SSP) format 250.

FIG. 3 illustrates face edges within a VR360 picture for more projectionformats, where the dashed line indicate a discontinuous face edge andthe dot-dashed line indicates a continuous face edge. FIG. 3(A)illustrates continuous and discontinuous face edges within a VR360picture in the Octahedron Projection (OHP) format 310. FIG. 3(B)illustrates continuous and discontinuous face edges within a VR360picture in the Rotated Sphere Projection (RSP) format 320. FIG. 3(C)illustrates continuous and discontinuous face edges within a VR360picture in the Icosahedron Projection (ISP) format 330). FIG. 3(D)illustrates continuous and discontinuous face edges within a VR360picture in the Adjusted Cubemap Projection (ACP) format 340.

In order to overcome the discontinuous edge within a CU issue,VR360-aware block partition methods are disclosed in the presentinvention.

Block Splitting Method A

According Method A, a leaf CU containing a face edge inside the CU issplit into one or more sub-CUs along the face edge of the leaf CUwithout signaling additional coding flags associated with the partitionmodes.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example VR block partition according to anembodiment of the present invention. The VR picture being processed inthis example corresponds to a 3×2 CMP picture 410. Two CUs (412 and 414)are selected to illustrate the block partition according to anembodiment of the present invention. CU 412 contains a horizontal faceedge 413 in the lower part of the block. The quadtree (QT) partition isfirst checked for CU 412. If the QT splitting 420 is selected, CU 412will be split into 4 sub-blocks and a QT split flag equal to 1 will beused to indicate the QT splitting. In this case, further block partitionmay be applied to the child nodes. If no QT splitting 422 is selected,CU 412 will not be split by the QT partition. A QT split flag equal to 0will be used to indicate no QT splitting. In this case, BT partitionwill be checked for CU 412. There are three possible BT partitionsincluding no partition 440, horizontal partition 442 and verticalpartition 444. For the partition results (i.e., child nodes) from thehorizontal partition 442 and vertical partition 444, the child nodes maybe further partitioned. According to the conventional block partition,block 440 becomes a leaf node, i.e., a CU. As shown in block 440, thereis a horizontal face edge near the lower part of the block. According toan embodiment of the present invention, block 440 will be furtherpartitioned along the horizontal face edge 462 to form a partitionedblock 460 consisting of top block (i.e., a CU) 464 and bottom block(i.e. a CU) 466. A BT split flag will be signaled to indicate one of thethree possible BT partitions selected.

CU 414 also contains a horizontal face edge 415 in the middle of theblock. The quadtree (QT) partition is first checked for CU 414. If theQT splitting 430 is selected, CU 414 will be split into 4 sub-blocks anda QT split flag equal to 1 will be used to indicate the QT splitting. Inthis case, further block partition may be applied to the child nodes. Ifno QT splitting 432 is selected, CU 414 will not be split by the QTpartition. A QT split flag equal to 0 will be used to indicate no QTsplitting. In this case, BT partition will be checked for CU 414. Thereare three possible BT partitions including no partition 450, horizontalpartition 452 and vertical partition 454 and a BT split flag will besignaled to indicate one of the three possible BT partitions selected.For the partition results (i.e., child nodes) from the horizontalpartition 452 and vertical partition 454, the child nodes may be furtherpartitioned. According to the conventional block partition, block 450becomes a leaf node, i.e., a CU. As shown in block 450, there is ahorizontal face edge in the middle of the block. According to anembodiment of the present invention, block 450 will be furtherpartitioned along the horizontal face edge 472 to form a partitionedblock 470 consisting of top block (i.e., a CU) 474 and bottom block(i.e. a CU) 476.

FIG. 5 illustrates further block partition of the nodes partitioned bythe BT partition in FIG. 4. The lower block 510 of the horizontal BTpartitioned block 442 contains a horizontal face edge. The BT partitionis checked for the lower block of the horizontal BT partitioned block442. Either no partition 511, horizontal partition 512 or verticalpartition 513 may be used. If no partition is selected for the lowerblock 510, block 511 will become a CU according to the conventionalblock partition. However, block 511 contains a horizontal face edge.According to an embodiment of the present invention, block 511 isfurther partitioned along the face edge 514 into a partitioned block 515containing a top sub-block and a bottom sub-block. Both the sub-blocksare free from any face edge. When horizontal BT partition 512 isselected, the horizontal BT partition is along the face edge so that theresulting sub-blocks are free from any face edge. When the vertical BTpartition 513 is selected, both sub-blocks contains a face edge.According to an embodiment of the present invention, the sub-blocks arepartitioned along the face edge 516 and 518 into partitioned sub-blocks517 and 519 respectively according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. For the top sub-block of block 442, there is no face edge andthe top block can be further partitioned using conventional partition.When the vertical BT partition 444 is selected for block 422, both theright sub-block and the left sub-block are subject to further partition.The partition example is shown for the right sub-block 520 and the sameprocess can be applied to the left sub-block. For sub-block 520, eitherno partition 521, horizontal partition 530 and vertical partition 540can be selected. When no partition 521 is selected, the sub-blockbecomes a CU, which contains a horizontal face edge. According to anembodiment of the present invention, block 521 is partitioned along thehorizontal face edge 522 into partitioned sub-blocks 523 (i.e., a topsub-block and a bottom sub-block). For the horizontal partition 530, thelower part still contains a face edge. According to an embodiment of thepresent invention, block 530 is partitioned along the horizontal faceedge 531 into partitioned sub-blocks 532 (i.e., a top sub-block and abottom sub-block). For the vertical partition 540, both sub-blockscontain a horizontal face edge. According to an embodiment of thepresent invention, the sub-blocks are partitioned along the face edge541 and 543 into partitioned sub-blocks 542 and 544 respectively (i.e.,a top sub-block and a bottom sub-block).

In FIG. 4, no QT split 432 may be selected for CU 414 and the CU may befurther partitioned by one or more stages of BT partition. After finalBT partition, the final blocks (i.e., leaf CUs) may contain a face edge.An example of leaf CUs after the BT partition is applied to the rightpartition (456) of the vertically partitioned block 454 is shown, wherethe right-side partition can be no BT partition 550, vertical BTpartition 560 or horizontal BT partition 570. For the horizontal BTpartition 570, the resulted sub-blocks are free from face edge. However,CU 550 and CU 560 both contain a horizontal face edge. According to anembodiment of the present invention, the CU is split along the face edgeinto sub-CUs so that the sub-CU are free from any face edge. Forexample, CU 550 is split along the face edge 551 into partitionedsub-CUs 552 (i.e., a top sub-CU and bottom sub-CU). The left partitionof block 560 is split along the face edge 561 into partitioned sub-CUs562 (i.e., a top sub-CU and bottom sub-CU). Similarly, the rightpartition of block 560 is split along the face edge 563 into partitionedsub-CUs 564 (i.e., a top sub-CU and bottom sub-CU). The final CUs andsub-CUs according to the present invention are all free from face edgewithin the CUs and sub-CUs.

According to Method A of the present invention, a block of the VRpicture is partitioned into leaf CUs first using conventional blockpartition. Each leaf CU is checked to determine whether a face edgeinside is a leaf-CU or not. For a leaf-CU with one face edge inside,sub-CU partitioning along the face edge is applied to the leaf CU todivide it into two sub-CUs. The resulting sub-CUs are used as the trueleaf-CUs. FIG. 6 illustrates examples of sub-CU partitioning to the leafCUs containing a face edge. In FIG. 6, block 610 corresponds to a leafCU containing a horizontal face edge in the lower part of the block asshown as a dash line 611. In other words, CU 612 contains a face edge asindicated by the dash line. According to Method A, block 610 is dividedinto two sub-CUs 614 (i.e., a top sub-CU and bottom sub-CU) along theface edge 615. Block 620 corresponds to two leaf CUs (622 and 624) wherethe lower leaf CU 624 contains a face edge as shown as a dash line.According to Method A, the top sub-CU 622 is treated as a final leaf-CUand the bottom sub-CU 624 is further divided into two sub-CUs 626 (i.e.,a top sub-CU and bottom sub-CU) along the face edge 627. Block 630corresponds to two leaf CUs (632 and 634) containing a face edge in thelower part as shown as a dash line 631. According to Method A, sub-CU632 is divided into two sub-CUs 636 (i.e., top and bottom sub-CUs) alongthe face edge 637, and sub-CU 634 is divided into two sub-CUs 638 (i.e.,top and bottom sub-CUs) along the face edge 637. Block 640 correspondsto a leaf CU containing a face edge as shown as a dash line 641. Inother words, CU 642 contains a face edge as indicated by the dash line.According to Method A, block 640 is divided into two sub-CUs 644 (i.e.,top and bottom sub-CUs) along the face edge 645. Block 650 correspondsto two leaf CUs (652 and 654) containing a face edge in the middle asshown as a dash line 651. According to Method A, sub-CU 652 is dividedinto two sub-CUs 656 (i.e., top and bottom sub-CUs) along the face edge657, and sub-CU 654 is divided into two sub-CUs 658 (i.e., top andbottom sub-CUs) along the face edge 657.

FIG. 7 illustrates another example of sub-CU partition according toMethod A, where the leaf-CU containing a horizontal face edge and anintersecting vertical face edge. In FIG. 7, block 710 corresponds to aleaf CU containing a horizontal face edge and a vertical face edge asshown as the dash lines, where the horizontal face edge is in the lowerpart of the block the vertical face edge is in the middle of the block.The conventional block partition for block 710 is shown in block 712(i.e., no further partition). According to Method A, block 710 isdivided into four sub-CUs 714 along the horizontal face edge and thevertical face edge. Block 720 corresponds to two leaf sub-CUs (722 and724), where the top sub-CU contains a vertical face edge and the lowersub-CU contains both the horizontal and vertical face edges shown asdash lines. According to Method A, the top sub-CU 722 is partitionedalong the vertical face edge into two sub-CUs 726 (i.e., left and rightsub-CUs) and the bottom sub-CU 724 is divided into four sub-CUs 728along the horizontal and vertical face edges. Block 730 corresponds totwo leaf sub-CUs (732 and 734) containing a horizontal face edge in thelower part as shown as a dash line. Since the vertical face edge isaligned with the partition between block 732 and block 734, there is novertical face edge within blocks 732 and 734. According to Method A,sub-CU 732 is divided into two sub-CUs 736 (i.e., top and bottomsub-CUs) along the face edge, and sub-CU 734 is divided into two sub-CUs738 (i.e., top and bottom sub-CUs) along the face edge. Block 740corresponds to a leaf CU containing a horizontal and vertical face edgesshown as dash lines. The conventional block partition for block 740 isshown in block 742 (i.e., no further partition). According to Method A,block 740 is divided into four sub-CUs 744 (i.e., two top sub-CUs andtwo bottom sub-CUs) along the horizontal and vertical face edges. Block750 corresponds to two leaf sub-CUs (752 and 754) containing ahorizontal face edge in the middle as shown as a dash line. Since thevertical face edge is aligned with the partition between block 752 andblock 754, there is no vertical face edge within blocks 752 and 754.According to Method A, sub-CU 752 is divided into two sub-CUs 756 (i.e.,top and bottom sub-CUs) along the horizontal face edge, and sub-CU 754is divided into two sub-CUs 758 (top and bottom sub-CUs) along thehorizontal face edge.

According to Method A, the block partition is further applied toleaf-CUs along the face edge(s) if any face edge exists in the leaf-CU.For each projection format, the location(s) of the face edge(s) isknown. On the other hand, the block location of a current block can bedetermined. Based on the information of block location/and block sizeand the face edge location, whether there is any face edge in the blockcan be determined without the need of signaling any indication.

Block Splitting Method B

While Method A discloses partition along the face edge, Method Bdiscloses restricted partition as long as the maximum quadtree (QT)depth and/or maximum binary tree depth is not reached. Under theconstrains of maximum QT or BT depth, this method applies QT partitionor BT horizontal partition to the CU with a horizontal face edge inside,and applies QT partition or BT vertical partition to the CU with avertical face edge inside. The maximum QT depth and maximum BT depth arelimited for a CU. A CU cannot be split any further to avoid face edgeinside when the constraint of maximum QT or BT depth is reached.

FIG. 8A illustrates examples of QT partition for VR pictures. Inpartition 810, a picture area 811 (e.g. a coding unit, CU) ispartitioned using QT partition into leaf CUs, where solid lines indicateQT partition boundaries and the dash lines indicate face edges withinthe picture area. Some of the leaf CUs are free from a face edges suchas leaf CUs 812, 814 and 816. The remaining leaf CUs contain one or moreface edges. For example, leaf CU 818 contains both horizontal andvertical face edges. FIG. 8B illustrates examples of BT partition for VRpictures. In partition 820, a picture area 821 (e.g. a coding unit, CU)containing a horizontal face edge is partitioned using horizontal BTpartition into leaf CUs, where dot-dash lines indicate horizontal BTpartition boundaries and the dash line indicates a horizontal face edgewithin the picture area. Some of the leaf CUs are free from any faceedges such as leaf CUs 822, 824 and 826. The remaining leaf CUs containone or more face edges. For example, leaf CU 828 contains the horizontalface edge.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of block partition according to Method B.The same picture area (e.g. a coding unit, CU) in FIG. 4 is used as abase to illustrate the QT/BT partition with constrained QT/BT depth.Since the picture area contains a horizontal face edge, only QT orhorizontal BT partition is allowed. For block 412, three BT partitiontypes (440, 442 and 444) would be considered according to theconventional partition method. However, according to the Method B, onlythe horizontal BT partition 442 is allowed since the block contains ahorizontal face edge. In other words, the no BT partition 440 andvertical BT partition 444 are not allowed as indicated an “X over theblock. Similarly, for block 414, three BT partition types (450, 452 and454) would be considered according to the conventional partition method.However, according to the Method B, only the horizontal BT partition 452is allowed since the block contains a horizontal face edge. In otherwords, the no BT partition 450 and vertical BT partition 454 are notallowed as indicated an “X” over the block.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of further block partition for thesub-blocks resulted from FIG. 9 according to Method B. The twosub-blocks (1010 and 1020) resulted from horizontal BT partition 442 canbe further partitioned. For sub-block 1010, since there is no face edgein the sub-block, all three BT partition types (no partition 1012,horizontal partition 1014 and vertical partition 1016) are allowed.However, for sub-block 1020, there is a horizontal face edge in thissub-block. Accordingly, only horizontal BT 1024 partition is allowed.Both no partition 1022 and vertical partition 1026 are not allowed forsub-block 1020. The two sub-blocks (1030 and 1040) resulted fromhorizontal BT partition 452 can be further partitioned. In this case,the face edge is aligned with the partition boundary between sub-block1030 and sub-block 1040. There is no face edge within sub-block 1030 andsub-block 1040. Accordingly, both sub-block 1030 and sub-lock 1040 canbe partitioned using all three BT partition types (i.e., no partition1032, horizontal partition 1034 and vertical partition 1036 forsub-block 1030, and no partition 1042, horizontal partition 1044 andvertical partition 1046 for sub-block 1040) since there is no face edgein the sub-block.

The partition Method B also take into account of the QT or BT depth as acriterion regarding terminating the partition. FIG. 11 illustrates anexample of block partition with further constraint on partition depth.The same picture area (e.g. a coding unit, CU) in FIG. 4 is used as abase to illustrate the block partition according to embodiments of thepresent invention. For block 412, the horizontal BT partition 442 isallowed to further split as shown in FIG. 10. However, according to thisadditional partition depth constraint, whether to further split maydepend on the partition depth. For example, if BT horizontal partitionis allowed for BT partition depth equal to 1, sub-block 1010 andsub-block 1020 cannot be further split as indicated by an “X” over thesub-blocks. Therefore, the face edge in sub-block 1020 becomesinevitable due to the depth constraint.

FIG. 12A illustrates an example of partition Method B with maximum QTdepth constraint. CU 1210 corresponds to a CU with the deepest QTpartition depth allowed. Therefore, QT partition 1212 is not allowed,which leaves the block un-partitioned 1214. If there is no constraint onBT depth or the BT depth has not reached the maximum BT depth yet, block1210 can be further partitioned using horizontal BT partition 1222, Theno BT partition 1220 and vertical BT partition 1224 are not allowedaccording to embodiments of the present invention since there is ahorizontal face edge in CU 1210. Since the maximum QT partition depthhas been reached, further QT partition is not allowed. In other words,the CU is forced to use no QT partition. Therefore, there is no need tosignal the selection of “no QT partition” for this CU. Furthermore,among the BT partition choices (i.e., no, horizontal and vertical),there is no need to signal the choice either since there is a horizontalface edge in the CU and only horizontal BT partition is allowed for thisCU.

For each projection format, the location(s) of the face edge(s) isknown. On the other hand, the block location of a current block can bedetermined. Based on the information of block location/and block sizeand the face edge location, whether there is any face edge in the blockcan be determined without the need of signaling any indication.

FIG. 12B illustrates another example of partition Method B with maximumQT and BT depth constraint. CU 1220 containing a face edge 1221corresponds to a CU with the deepest QT partition depth allowed.Therefore, QT partition 1222 is not allowed, which leaves the blockun-partitioned 1224. However, the BT partition depth also reaches itsmaximum depth. Therefore, neither the horizontal or vertical BT can beallowed (as shown by an “X” over the blocks in dash box 1230, whichleaves the block un-partitioned 1232, which inevitable.

In the above example, the Method B is illustrated for a CU containingonly one face edge for the horizontal face edge. When the CU containsonly one vertical face edge, similar partition process can be applied byreplacing the horizontal BT partition with the vertical BT partition.

FIG. 13 illustrates another example of block partition according to anembodiment of Method B, where a CU contains two face edges. For a CUwith multiple face edges inside, the QT partitioning is appliedrecursively to the CU until reaching the maximum QT depth or thechild-CUs only with one edge or no edge inside. For the child-CUswithout face edge inside, the regular partitioning method can be appliedto the child CU. For the child-CUs with one edge inside, the blockpartition for CU with only one face edge mentioned above can be applied.For the leaf-CU reaching the constrains of maximum QT depth, but stillcontaining face edges inside, the leaf CU could not be further split andthe edges inside become inevitable. In FIG. 13, block partition 1320illustrates the partition process according to Method B with constrainton the maximum QT depth (e.g. Maximum QT depth=4). Partition 1320corresponds to the first stage QT partition applied to CU 1330, wherethe solid lines indicate QT partition boundaries and the dash linesindicates face edges. As shown in partition 1320, the upper left sub-CUcontains no face edge and the sub-CU can be further processed usingregular block partition. The remaining three sub-CUs (i.e., 1342, 1344and 1346) still contain one or more face edges. The second stage blockpartition 1340 is applied to these three sub-CUs. For sub-CU 1342 and1344, there is only on face edge within each sub-CUs, the horizontal orvertical BT partition as mentioned before will be applied. For sub-CU1346, the QT partition is applied again. After the second-stage QT isapplied to block 1346, the lower-right sub-CU contains no face edge andregular partition can be applied to the lower-right sub-CU. Theremaining three sub-CUs (i.e., 1352, 1354 and 1356) still contain one ormore face edges. The third stage block partition 1350 is applied tothese three sub-CUs. For sub-CU 1352 and 1354, there is only on faceedge within each sub-CUs, and the horizontal or vertical BT partition asmentioned before will be applied. For sub-CU 1356, the QT partition isapplied again. After the third-stage QT is applied to block 1356, thelower-right sub-CU contains no face edge and regular partition can beapplied to the lower-right sub-CU. The remaining three sub-CUs (1362,1364 and 1366) still contain one or more face edges. For sub-CU 1362 and1364, there is only on face edge within each sub-CUs, and the horizontalor vertical BT partition as mentioned before will be applied. For sub-CU1366, the maximum QT depth (i.e., 4) has been reached. Therefore,according to an embodiment of Method B, sub-CU 1366 cannot be furtherpartitioned by QT partition, which leaves the face edges inside thesub-CU inevitable.

An example of flowchart for block partition based on the Method B in thecase of one or more face edges in a CU is shown in FIG. 14. An input CU1402 is first checked to determine whether there is any face edge in theCU as shown in step 1410. If there is no face edge in the CU (i.e., the“No” path from step 1410), the block is processed by regular CUpartition as shown in step 1440. If there is any face edge in the CU(i.e., the “Yes” path from step 1410), the block is further checked todetermine whether there are multiple face edges inside the CU as shownin step 1420. If there are multiple face edges in the CU (i.e., the“Yes” path from step 1420), the CU is further checked to determinewhether the maximum QT depth is reached in step 1422. If the maximum QTdepth is not reached (i.e., the “No” path from step 1422), the CU ispartitioned into child-CUs as shown in step 1424. Each child-CU istreated as a new CU and the block partition process iterates by enteringstep 1410. If the maximum QT depth is reached (i.e., the “Yes” path fromstep 1422), the CU is not partitioned and stays as a leaf CU, whichstill contains face edges as shown in step 1426. In step 1420, if thereare no multiple face edges (i.e., the “No” path from 1420), step 1430 isperformed to check whether there is one face edge exists. If there is noface edge in the CU (i.e., the “No” path from step 1430), the block isprocessed by regular CU partition as shown in step 1440. If there is oneface edge in the CU (i.e., the “Yes” path from step 1430), whether themaximum QT depth or maximum BT depth for the block is reached is checkedin step 1432. If the maximum QT depth or maximum BT depth for the blockis reached (i.e., the “Yes” path from step 1432), the CU is notpartitioned and stays as a leaf CU, which still contains a face edge asshown in step 1426. If the maximum QT depth and maximum BT depth for theblock is not reached (i.e., the “No” path from step 1432), the CU ischecked to determine whether the CU contains a vertical face edge or ahorizontal face edge as shown in step 1434. If the face edge ishorizontal, QT partition or horizontal BT partition is applied to splitthe CU into multiple sub-CUs as shown in step 1436 and the process foreach new CU (i.e., each sub-CU) iterates by going to step 1430. If theface edge is vertical, QT partition or vertical BT partition is appliedto split the CU into multiple sub-CUs as shown in step 1438 and theprocess for each new CU (i.e., each sub-CU) iterates by going to step1430.

An example of flowchart for block partition based on the Method B in thecase of one or more face edges in a CU is shown in FIG. 15. Theflowchart is similar to that in FIG. 14 except for the case that nomultiple face edges inside the CU. In FIG. 14, if there are no multipleface edges in step 1420 (i.e., the “No” path), step 1430 is performed tocheck whether there is one face edge exists. In FIG. 15, if there are nomultiple face edges in step 1420 (i.e., the “No” path), step 1432 isperformed to check whether the maximum QT depth or maximum BT depth forthe block is reached.

In the above, block partition according to embodiments of the presentinvention are disclosed. In case 1, a CU does not have any face edgeinside. For the CU without any face edge, an embodiment of the presentinvention allows all splitting modes (non-split, QT partition, BThorizontal partition, BT vertical partition) if the block partition doesnot reach the maximum QT/BT depth. In case 2, a CU has one horizontalface edge. For the CU with one horizontal face edge, an embodiment ofthe present invention allows splitting modes of QT partition if themaximum QT depth not been reached, and allows BT horizontal partition ifthe maximum BT depth not been reached. If the CU has reached its maximumQT or BT depth, the CU will not be further split. In case 3, a CU hasone vertical face edge. For the CU with one vertical face edge, anembodiment of the present invention allows splitting modes of QTpartition if the maximum QT depth not been reached, and allows BTvertical partition if the maximum BT depth not been reached. If the CUhas reached its maximum QT and BT depth, the CU will not be furthersplit. In case 4, a CU has multiple face edges. For the CU with multipleface edges, only allows QT partition is allowed if the maximum QT depthis not reached. For a CU that reaches maximum QT depth and it containsmultiple face edges, the CU will not be further split.

FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a system incorporatingthe block partition method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, where a leaf CU with a face edge is split into multiplesub-CUs along the face edge. The steps shown in the flowchart, as wellas other following flowcharts in this disclosure, may be implemented asprogram codes executable on one or more processors (e.g., one or moreCPUs) at the encoder side and/or the decoder side. The steps shown inthe flowchart may also be implemented based hardware such as one or moreelectronic devices or processors arranged to perform the steps in theflowchart. According to this method, a target processing unit in a VRpicture is received in step 1610, wherein the VR picture corresponds toa 2D (two-dimensional) picture projected from a 3D (three-dimensional)picture according to a target projection format. The target processingunit is partitioned into one or more child processing units usingquadtree (QT) partition and/or binary tree (BT) partition in step 1620.In step 1630, when one target child processing unit is one leafprocessing unit and contains one or more face edges, said one targetchild processing unit is split into two or more final leaf processingunits along said one or more face edges, wherein each of said two ormore final leaf processing units contains no face edge. In step 1640,when one target child processing unit is one leaf processing unit andcontains no face edge, said one target child processing unit isdesignated as one final leaf processing unit. Said one or more finalleaf processing units are encoded or decoded in step 1650.

FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a system incorporatingthe block partition method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, where a leaf CU with a face edge is split using QT/horizontalBT partition or QT/vertical BT partition if the maximum QT or BT is notreached. According to this method, a target processing unit in a VRpicture is received in step 1710, wherein the VR picture corresponds toa 2D (two-dimensional) picture projected from a 3D (three-dimensional)picture according to a target projection format. The target processingunit is partitioned into one or more child processing units usingquadtree (QT) partition and/or binary tree (BT) partition in step 1720.In step 1730, if one target child processing unit contains only one faceedge and maximum QT depth and/or maximum BT depth associated with saidone target child processing unit is not reached, said one target childprocessing unit is split horizontally into two horizontal childprocessing units when only one face edge is one horizontal face edge andsaid one target child processing unit is split vertically into twovertical child processing units when only one face edge is one verticalface edge. One or more final leaf processing units are encoded ofdecoded, where said one or more final leaf processing units comprisesaid two horizontal child processing units or said two vertical childprocessing units, or two or more second horizontal child processingunits or two or more second vertical child processing units furtherpartitioned from said two horizontal child processing units or said twovertical child processing units respectively.

The flowcharts shown above are intended for serving as examples toillustrate embodiments of the present invention. A person skilled in theart may practice the present invention by modifying individual steps,splitting or combining steps with departing from the spirit of thepresent invention.

The above description is presented to enable a person of ordinary skillin the art to practice the present invention as provided in the contextof a particular application and its requirement. Various modificationsto the described embodiments will be apparent to those with skill in theart, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to otherembodiments. Therefore, the present invention is not intended to belimited to the particular embodiments shown and described, but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novelfeatures herein disclosed. In the above detailed description, variousspecific details are illustrated in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. Nevertheless, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may bepracticed.

Embodiment of the present invention as described above may beimplemented in various hardware, software codes, or a combination ofboth. For example, an embodiment of the present invention can be one ormore electronic circuits integrated into a video compression chip orprogram code integrated into video compression software to perform theprocessing described herein. An embodiment of the present invention mayalso be program code to be executed on a Digital Signal Processor (DSP)to perform the processing described herein. The invention may alsoinvolve a number of functions to be performed by a computer processor, adigital signal processor, a microprocessor, or field programmable gatearray (FPGA). These processors can be configured to perform particulartasks according to the invention, by executing machine-readable softwarecode or firmware code that defines the particular methods embodied bythe invention. The software code or firmware code may be developed indifferent programming languages and different formats or styles. Thesoftware code may also be compiled for different target platforms.However, different code formats, styles and languages of software codesand other means of configuring code to perform the tasks in accordancewith the invention will not depart from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom its spirit or essential characteristics. The described examples areto be considered in all respects only as illustrative and notrestrictive. The scope of the invention is therefore, indicated by theappended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changeswhich come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims areto be embraced within their scope.

1. A method of video coding for a video encoder or decoder, the methodcomprising: receiving a target processing unit in a VR picture, whereinthe VR picture corresponds to a 2D (two-dimensional) picture projectedfrom a 3D (three-dimensional) picture according to a target projectionformat; partitioning the target processing unit into one or more childprocessing units using quadtree (QT) partition and/or binary tree (BT)partition; when one target child processing unit contains only one faceedge and maximum QT depth and/or maximum BT depth associated with saidone target child processing unit is not reached, splitting said onetarget child processing unit horizontally into at least two horizontalchild processing units when only one face edge is one horizontal faceedge and splitting said one target child processing unit vertically intoat least two vertical child processing units when only one face edge isone vertical face edge; and encoding or decoding one or more final leafprocessing units comprising said at least two horizontal childprocessing units or said at least two vertical child processing units,or two or more second horizontal child processing units or two or moresecond vertical child processing units further partitioned from said atleast two horizontal child processing units or said at least twovertical child processing units respectively.
 2. The method of claim 1further comprising, when one target child processing unit contains twoor more face edges and the maximum QT depth and/or the maximum BT depthassociated with said one target child processing unit is not reached,splitting said one target child processing unit horizontally andvertically into four third child processing units.
 3. The method ofclaim 2 further comprising if one third child processing unit containsonly one face edge and maximum QT depth and/or maximum BT depthassociated with said one third child processing unit is not reached,splitting said one third child processing unit horizontally into twofourth horizontal child processing units when only one face edge in saidone third child processing unit is one horizontal face edge, andsplitting said one third child processing unit vertically into twofourth vertical child processing units when only one face edge in saidone third child processing unit is one vertical face edge; and whereinsaid one or more final leaf processing units comprise said two fourthhorizontal child processing units or said two fourth vertical childprocessing units, or two or more fifth horizontal child processing unitsfurther partitioned from said two fourth horizontal child processingunits or two or more fifth vertical child processing units furtherpartitioned from said two fourth vertical child processing units.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising, when one target child processingunit contains no face edge and the maximum QT depth and/or the maximumBT depth associated with said one target child processing unit is notreached, splitting said one target child processing unit using the QTpartition or the BT partition into one or more sixth child processingunits.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising, when the maximum QTdepth and/or the maximum BT depth associated with said one target childprocessing unit is reached, said one target child processing unit is notfurther partitioned and said one or more final leaf processing unitscomprises said one target child processing unit.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein information regarding whether one target child processingunit contains any face edge is indicated implicitly without signalingthe information.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein whether one targetchild processing unit contains any face edge is determined based on ablock location and block size of said one target child processing unitin the VR picture and one or more face edge locations of the VR picturein the target projection format.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thetarget projection format corresponds to Cubemap Projection (CMP), Barrellayout, Segmented-Sphere Projection (SSP), Octahedron Projection (OHP),Rotated Sphere Projection (RSP), Icosahedron Projection (CISP), AdjustedCubemap Projection (ACP).
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the targetprocessing unit corresponds to one coding unit (CU).
 10. An apparatus offor video coding, the apparatus comprising one or more electroniccircuitries or processors arranged to: receive a target processing unitin a VR picture, wherein the VR picture corresponds to a 2D(two-dimensional) picture projected from a 3D (three-dimensional)picture according to a target projection format; partition the targetprocessing unit into one or more child processing units using quadtree(QT) partition and/or binary tree (BT) partition; when one target childprocessing unit contains only one face edge and maximum QT depth and/ormaximum BT depth associated with said one target child processing unitis not reached, split said one target child processing unit horizontallyinto at least two horizontal child processing units when only one faceedge is one horizontal face edge and splitting said one target childprocessing unit vertically into at least two vertical child processingunits when only one face edge is one vertical face edge; and encode ordecode one or more final leaf processing units comprising said at leasttwo horizontal child processing units or said at least two verticalchild processing units, or two or more second horizontal childprocessing units or two or more second vertical child processing unitsfurther partitioned from said at least two horizontal child processingunits or said at least two vertical child processing units respectively.